Drives

Caring for Drives and Drive Media

Drives and drive media are fragile notebook components that must be handled with care. The following cautions apply to all drives. Cautions that concern specific procedures are included with the procedures.

Caring for Drives

ÄCAUTION: To prevent damage to the notebook or a drive and loss of work:

■Do not remove the internal hard drive except for repair or replacement.

■Do not try to remove a Digital Drive while it is still in use.

■Electrostatic discharge can damage electronic components. To prevent electrostatic damage to the notebook or a drive, follow these 2 precautions: (1) Before handling a drive, discharge yourself from static electricity by touching a grounded metal object, and

(2) Avoid touching the connectors on a drive. For more information about preventing electrostatic damage, refer to the “Electrostatic Discharge” section in the Regulatory and Safety Notices guide on the Documentation Library CD.

■Excessive force can damage drive connectors. When you insert a drive, use only enough force to seat the drive.

■Handle a drive carefully. Do not drop it.

■Avoid exposing a hard drive or a diskette to devices with magnetic fields. Products with magnetic fields include video and audio tape erasure products, monitors, and speakers. Security devices with magnetic fields include airport walk-through devices and security wands. The airport security devices that check carry-on luggage, usually while it is placed on a conveyor belt, use x-rays instead of magnetism and will not damage a hard drive or a diskette.

■Do not spray a drive with cleaners.

■Avoid exposing a drive to liquids or temperature extremes.

■If you mail a drive, ship it in packaging that protects it from shock, vibration, extreme temperatures, and high humidity. Label the package “FRAGILE.”

Hardware Guide

4–3